pendekar

Pendekar (hero; master of swordsmanship or martial arts), Pandikar or Pandeka is a Malay word to reference or address a warrior who mastered martial arts, particularly silat. Not all masters carry the title; it must be either officially bestowed by royalty (similar to a knighthood) or unofficially by commonfolk. The latter is more common today, especially outside Southeast Asia. Today, the title is often adopted by the founder of a new style. Parallels can be drawn to the chess term grandmaster since the title of Pandeka is the highest possible rank of a practitioner of the Malaysian martial art silat.